40 ft high cube
40 ft high cube container calculator
Thirty centimetres more headroom, and what it buys you. Internal dimensions for the high cube, how it compares with the standard 40 ft, and a 3D plan for your cargo — the planner below opens on a 40 ft HC.
Free, and you can run one calculation before signing in at all.
The short answer
25 euro pallets or 21 industrial on the floor. 76 m³, 2.69 m high, about 26.5 tonnes.
Single tier, no overhang. Same floor as a standard 40 ft.
The high cube has the same floor as a standard 40 ft, so the pallet count does not change; what changes is the roof. 2.69 m of internal height is what makes a second tier of 1.3 m pallets fit, or lets tall cartons stand instead of lying, or takes a 2.5 m machine that a standard box refuses at the door. It is now the most common 40 ft in circulation, so planning for it is rarely a special request.
High cube dimensions, and the boxes around it
The 40 ft high cube against the standard 40 ft it replaces, the pallet-wide variant, the 45 ft high cube above it and the reefer high cube.
| Container | Internal L × W × H | Pallets, one tier (euro · industrial) | Payload · volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 ft high cube | 12.03 × 2.35 × 2.69 m | 25 · 21 | ~26,500 kg · 76 m³ |
| 40 ft pallet-wide high cube | 12.10 × 2.44 × 2.69 m | 30 · 24 | ~26,000 kg · 79 m³ |
| 40 ft standard, for comparison | 12.03 × 2.35 × 2.39 m | 25 · 21 | ~26,700 kg · 68 m³ |
| 45 ft high cube | 13.56 × 2.35 × 2.69 m | 27 · 24 | ~25,700 kg · 86 m³ |
| 40 ft high cube reefer | 11.56 × 2.29 × 2.55 m | 23 · 20 | ~29,000 kg · 67 m³ |
Nominal figures. The high cube door is about 2.34 m wide and 2.58 m high — 30 cm taller than a standard door, which is often the real gain. Measure the allocated box before planning to the centimetre.
Pack a 40 ft high cube
The planner is already set to a 40 ft high cube. Enter your cartons or pallets — or describe the shipment — and it places every piece, reports the fill, and says what did not fit.
This is the planner itself, not a demo. Enter your own cargo and it packs it — the figures above are the starting point, not the answer for your load.
What changes the answer
Four reasons the extra height does, or does not, turn into extra cargo.
- Usable height, not internal height
- The internal figure is measured to the roof. Curtain sliders, roof bows and the deck of a mega trailer all take some of it, and a pallet that clears on paper by two centimetres does not clear in practice.
- Volume is not capacity
- 68 m³ of box holds far less than 68 m³ of cartons. Rows that do not divide the width evenly, the gap above the top tier and odd sizes at the end take 10–25% on a good day. The fill percentage the planner reports is the honest figure.
- What may sit on what
- Double-stacking doubles a count only if the lower tier can carry the upper one and the total clears the roof. Fragile, non-tiltable and crush-limited items break that arithmetic, and they are the norm rather than the exception.
- The door, not the box
- A standard container door is about 2.34 m wide and 2.28 m high — narrower and lower than the 2.35 × 2.39 m inside. Anything that fits the box but not the opening does not go in, and a high cube's taller door is often its real advantage.
Questions
How many pallets fit in a 40 ft high cube?
The same 25 euro or 21 industrial pallets as a standard 40 ft on a single tier — the high cube adds height, not floor. The extra 30 cm is what lets a second tier fit when the pallets are 1.3 m or lower.
What are the internal dimensions of a 40 ft high cube?
About 12.03 m long, 2.35 m wide and 2.69 m high: 76 m³, against 68 for a standard 40 ft.
Is a high cube worth it for pallets that do not stack?
Usually not. If nothing goes on top of the first tier, the extra height is empty air; a standard 40 ft carries the same floor and is often cheaper. The high cube earns its keep with stackable cargo or tall single pieces.
Can a high cube go anywhere a standard container goes?
Almost. It is 2.90 m tall outside against 2.59 m, which matters on low bridges, in some warehouses and on chassis with limited clearance. Ports and rail handle them routinely.